This is a request that you make one more - perhaps final - attempt to save
Leitrim wetlands. I am sending this email to members of OFNC Council and
some others. Regrettably, OFNC does not have a comrehensive list of
members' email addresses for use in emergency situations such as this.

The essence of the situation is that the provincial and municipal
authorities long ago approved the development project, that would build
houses on the lowest part of what is presently the Leitrim wetland, while
attempting to preserve another part by constructing a barrier 700 metres
long to prevent drainage of groundwater. Experts opposed to this plan say
the barrier is unlikely to do the job, due to porosity of the underlying
material, and because the barrier would not extend far enough. When or if
it doesn't work, onus would be on the City to improve the barrier, or pump
water back into the wetlands (all at huge public expense) or watch it die.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO DECIDE NOW WHICH OPINIONS YOU BELIEVE. WHAT YOU ARE BEING
URGED TO DO IS TO WRITE TO DFO MINISTER THIBAULT AND ASK FOR A PUBLIC PANEL
REVIEW OF THE DFO SCREENING REPORT. That report ignores those expert
opinions and says it is OK to proceed with the project. With a panel
review the experts can give their opinions publicly.

I am copying below some words of Juan Unger of the Greenspace Alliance. He
provides full details on who to contact, and where to get get further
information if you feel you need it.

YOU CAN HELP

What is said, and how many of us say it, CAN make the
difference.

What is needed is a letter (e-mail is ok)--even if it
is only a very, very short one--to the Minister of
Fisheries and Oceans (see address below).

You can start a letter or e-mail by saying that it
refers to "the Findlay Creek Reconstruction and
Stormwater Management screening report" or, more
formally, to "the Findlay Creek Reconstruction and
Stormwater Management Environmental Assessment
Screening Report".

In it, please be sure to ask for

***a public review and full environmental assessment
of the proposed stormwater system at Findlay Creek and
the Leitrim Wetlands.***

The "screening report" published by the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)
has many deficiencies and does not provide reliable
assurances against irreversible, grave damage to these
exceptional wetlands. According to Mike Lascelles (former director of legislation and education, Canadian
Environmental Assessment Agency), "This screening does not answer fully two key
questions: Is the stormwater system likely to fail
and drain the Leitrim wetlands? and Should future
local residents worry about their health because of
the landfill nearby? Faced with this wholesale
uncertainty and public conern, the federal Fishries
Minister has a legal duty to refer those questions to
an independent public review by experts to give us
credible and reliable answers before irreversible
damage is done."

PLEASE NOTE: To be considered, a letter HAS TO BE
RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 17 JULY 2003.
So please do not postpone it -it's very urgent, and
this is in fact a chance to effectively contribute to
the possible protection of these irreplaceable
wetlands!

Please consider forwarding this message and asking
others--as many others as you can think of--to do the
same, and write at least a minimal letter (can be an
e-mail) asking for a public review and full
environmental assessment of the proposed stormwater
system at Findlay Creek and the Leitrim Wetlands.

Your request for a public review must be received
before midnight July 17 to be taken into account by
the Department of Fisheries and Oceans!!!

You can write to the Minister of Fisheries and
Oceans--but please be sure to send a copy to the DFO
Prescott District Office (see below). The minister's
address (free of postage) is:

The Honourable Robert G. Thibault, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada

House of Commons

Ottawa ON KIA 0A6

or E-mail the minister at Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

VERY IMPORTANT: Please be sure to send a copy of that
letter to the DFO office responsible for the report by
e-mail, fax or regular mail, at:

Prescott District Office

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ontario Great Lakes Area

401 King St. West, P.O. Box 1000,

Prescott, ON K0E 1T0

Fax: (613) 925-2245

E-mail: findlay@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

If you can, please copy also:

Friends of Leitrim Wetlands,

c/o 14 Harvard Ave.

Ottawa, ON K1S 4Z1

E-mail: lascellm@cyberus.ca

Thank you in advance for any and all help that you can
contribute to this crucial effort.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AREA

It is the most important remnant of a once extensive wetland complex that covered many thousands
of acres and spread eastward to the South Nation River.

It is unusually complex, resulting in a high degree of biodiversity. (It has been listed as one of
Canadas "hotspots" of biodiversity.1038 species of organisms identified to date).

Its complexity results from a poorly-understood, complicated hydrology and geology that would be
difficult to duplicate.

It contains regionally, provincially and nationally rare species over 200 species of
regionally significant plants.

It contains more regionally significant plants than the Mer Bleue, a RAMSAR site, even though it
is only one-tenth the size.

It harbours patches of old growth trees  up to 250 or more years old.

It contains 90 species of resident or breeding birds, including a sizeable rookery of Great Blue
Herons nesting in the tops of ancient White Pines. During migration times, up to 150 species of
birds can be seen in the wetlands. The Red-shouldered Hawk, a vulnerable species, nests in
wooded part of the wetland.

The Canadian Wildlife Service (1993) described the Leitrim Wetlands as "clearly an area of
outstanding ecological significance."